Protective garment ensemble

ABSTRACT

A protective garment ensemble comprising a suit having arm-receiving and leg-receiving portions, a hood portion and an opening adjacent the hood opening through which the suit can be donned and doffed and which mates with a removable face portion, the ensemble having mating fastener components around the suit opening and the face portion to form a seal between the suit and the removable face portion.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to protective garment ensembles for use in avariety of potentially harmful environments such as fire, chemicaland/or biological conditions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Current standard practice for responders to hazardous conditions is towear a fully encapsulated suit when using a self contained breathingapparatus (“SCBA”) in a Hazardous Materials (“HAZMAT”) incidentrequiring vapor protection. In a fully encapsulated suit the responderand the SCBA are completely inside a protective suit to prevent vaporingress that could harm or contaminate the responder's skin, lungs, etc.These suits are typically designed to meet the most stringent protectionlevels such as the National Fire Protection Association (“NFPA”) Level Astandard.

In HAZMAT incidents where liquid and vapor personal protection arepreferred or necessary, the wearer will normally use a SCBA and dress ina fully encapsulated suit, commonly referred to as a Level A ensembledesign. Due to the cumbersome nature of encapsulating suits and the needto minimize the number of sealed openings, serious efforts have focusedon encapsulating garment designs which could be easily donned and doffedand which had only one sealed opening. For example, U.S. Pat. No.4,038,698 to Smith describes a one-piece rainsuit and mask which has asingle zipper extending from the neck to the ankle to facilitate donningand doffing. Subsequently, U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,059 to Covingtondescribes advantages of a one-piece jumpsuit having a single zipper thatextends from the crotch to the neck and then further extends from theneck to the sleeve. In both of these garment designs, the fact that azipper extends to the neck is problematic due to the difficulties inmaking a comfortable, liquid proof seal at the neck-end of the zipperbetween the garment and the wearer's neck.

One way that this problem has been overcome is by the use of a neck-damwhich slides over the wearer's head in combination with a zipperelsewhere on the garment through which the garment can be donned anddoffed. For example, UK Patent Application No. GB 2,079,141 to Gugendescribes a protective suit that has a single zipper that extends acrossthe front of the body coverall through which the garment is donned anddoffed and with a separate neck-dam which can stretch to pass over thewearer's head, but then forms a seal around the wearer's neck.

An alternate approach to addressing the problem of sealing a zipperaround a wearer's neck is to use a non-separating zipper whichterminates close to, but not at the wearer's neck. UK Patent ApplicationNo. GB 2,357,235 to Duplock describes a garment in which a single,non-separating zipper extending from the chest region upward and aroundthe back of the neck, then continuing back down to the center portion ofthe chest. When open, the wearer can don and doff this jumpsuit withease, and a separate neck-dam can be used to form a liquid proof sealaround the wearer's neck. A limitation of this garment design is that ina HAZMAT situation, the wearer would need to remove his/her breathingair supply in order to doff the potentially contaminated garment.

In many instances, the wearer is required to doff the Level A protectivesuits without removing his/her breathing air supply in order that thegarment can be decontaminated or replaced. However, doffing the presentLevel A suits often require one's breathing air supply to be removed,thus exposing the wearer to potentially life-threatening agents.

In searching for designs to improve the liquid and vapor protection whenusing an SCBA, doffing the garment without compromising the respiratoryprotection becomes a problem. Many schemes have been attempted, but notsucceeded, to eliminate the need of the wearer to remove or disconnecthis supplied airline in order to doff an encapsulating suit. Removingone's airline prior to complete personal protective equipmentdecontamination can have serious health or life-threatening implicationsin certain HAZMAT incidents.

Thus, existing systems provide a limited protective solution becausethey force the wearer to risk potentially life-threatening exposures inorder to doff a contaminated protective ensemble.

Accordingly, a need has existed for a protective ensemble having a fullyencapsulating design that insures the protective garment is sealed fromingress of threats such as fire, chemical and biological assaults, andother hazardous threats, while also allowing for easy donning anddoffing without compromising the wearer's supplied respiratory airsystem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a protective ensemble for use inprotection against fire, chemical and/or biological threats, and othersimilar harmful environments which individuals may be exposed to under avariety of extreme conditions.

The protective ensemble comprises a suit having an appropriateconstruction that is protective against the challenges of interest; anopening in the suit through which the suit can be donned and doffed andwhich mates with the removable face portion of the ensemble and matingfastener components secured around the suit opening and the face portionto form a seal between the suit and the removable face portion when thefastener components are mated together. This protective ensemble canoptionally include additional features and apertures for allowingdevices such as a supplied respiratory air hose or protective mask orsimilar device to be used. As required for the entire ensemble, theseadditional features and/or apertures include appropriate means forpreventing the ingress of challenges against which protection isdesired. While not intended to limit the scope of this invention, thisinvention is particularly well suited for protection against hazardousliquids and vapors, such as, but not limited to chemical and biologicalagents.

The suit portion of the invention includes arm-receiving andleg-receiving portions for accommodating a wearer's arms and legs duringuse and a hood region for covering the wearer's head. Depending on thelevel of threat to which the wearer may be exposed, the number ofopenings in the suit portion may vary. In the case of extremely harmfulthreats, the fewer openings in the garment requiring sealing, the lessopportunity for leaks in the garment and, resultingly, the better theprotection for the wearer. Thus, in one embodiment, the suit comprises aunitary piece with only one opening in the hood region appropriatelysized for the wearer to don and doff the suit and a fastener componentaround the perimeter of the suit opening matingly sealable with thefastener component on the removable face portion. Where theenvironmental threat to the wearer may not be as severe, it may bedesirable that the suit comprise multiple pieces, such as a top witharm-receiving portions, a hood portion and an opening through which thesuit may be donned and doffed which is matingly sealable to the faceportion, and pants with leg-receiving portions, wherein a further sealis provided between the top and pant pieces of the suit.

The removable face portion is oriented generally adjacent the wearer'sface and has a fastener component at or adjacent its perimeter formatingly sealing to the suit portion of the ensemble. The face portionmay typically have a visor, mask, or other means for the wearer to seethrough the ensemble. The removable face portion may also optionally besupplied with an air port for a supplied respiratory air line to pass tothe wearer. In another embodiment, a combination mask and breathingapparatus (e.g., an SCBA or the like) may be sealed to or with theremovable face portion. Additional functional capabilities which providecomfort, safety, etc., to the wearer are also contemplated to beprovided through the removable face portion in a sealed manner,depending on the environmental conditions to which the wearer isexposed.

The suit and the face portion are sealed together at the perimeter ofthe suit opening and the removable face portion. The fastener used toform the sealed perimeter can be any suitable separating fastener thatallows the suit to be totally separated from the removable face portionincluding, but not limited to, separating zippers and rail-type closureswhich seal the interior of the protective ensemble from the surroundingenvironment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front view of a protective ensemble containing a removableface portion according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a protective ensemble containing a removableface portion according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a cut-away side perspective view of a person wearing aprotective ensemble within which a SCBA tank can be worn and with aremovable face portion according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one alternative sealing construction forsealing the removable face portion to the remainder of the protectivesuit; and

FIG. 5 is a partial cut-away side perspective view of a person donningor doffing a protective ensemble of the invention, such as shown in FIG.2, wherein the removable face portion and attached air supply is inplace on the wearer's face.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An encapsulating protective ensemble for use with supplied respiratoryair systems is provided.

Turning to the figures, FIG. 1 shows one aspect of the invention whereinthe encapsulating protective ensemble 10 is shown to include a suit 1with a hood region 9 and an adjacent opening depicted by the perimeter5, removable face portion 2 comprising fabric, a visor, or mask, 3, aport 4 for a respirator or alternate breathing means, and a seal betweenthe suit 1 and the face portion 2 at perimeter 5. The sealing at theperimeter 5 can be accomplished by any fastener capable of sealing theremovable face portion 2 to the suit 1. The fastener used to form thesealed perimeter can be any suitable separating fastener that allows thesuit 1 to be totally separated from the removable face portion, such asbut not limited to separating zippers and rail-type closures. Thedimensions of the opening in the suit must be sufficiently large toallow the wearer to don and doff the protective ensemble by passing hisor her entire body through this opening. Importantly, if a breathing airport is included in the removable face portion 2, a suitable sealingmeans must also be provided between the port and the breathing devicewhich passes therethrough. Such seals may comprise an elastomericmaterial such as neoprene or butyl rubber that is formed into a suitablegeometry so as to form a seal with the breathing device.

In a side perspective view of an encapsulating protective ensemble,shown in FIG. 2, as above, suit 1 is attached to the removable faceportion 2 at sealed perimeter 5. An air line 7 provides suppliedrespiratory air from air tank 6 to breathing mask 8 which is sealed toremovable face portion 2 by air port 4. Visor 3 is provided for thewearer to see to the outside through the ensemble. A main advantage ofthis invention is that after exposure to contaminating agents, theprotective ensemble 1 can be doffed without necessitating the wearer'sremoval of his supplied breathing air.

In an alternate embodiment, depicted in FIG. 3 showing a cut-away sideperspective view of a person wearing a protective ensemble, theprotective ensemble may be configured so that a supplied air tank 6 canbe worn beneath the suit 1. In such an embodiment, the breathing airport can be eliminated from the removable face portion 2, leaving justthe visor 3 for visibility. The opening in the suit in such anembodiment will be sufficiently large that the wearer can don and doffthe suit while wearing the air tank 6.

As noted earlier, the suit and the face portion are sealed at theperimeter by any suitable fastener means which seals the interior of theprotective ensemble from the surrounding environment. In one embodiment,a fastener can seal the portions at the perimeter by incorporatingoverlapping flexible materials. FIG. 4 shows an embodiment whereinprotective barrier material 10′ is attached to the male portion 11 of azipper. The female portion 12 of the zipper is attached to barriermaterial 10 from the opposite portion of the opening to be sealed. Toinsure adequate liquid and vapor protection, a flap of barrier material13 with affixed elastomeric strip 14 can be sewn or otherwise attachedto barrier material 10 and located such that the elastomeric strip 14resides over the zipper formed when the two halves of the zipper 11, 12are mated. A means for securing flap 13 to the barrier material 10′ canbe provided, such as hook 16 and loop 17 strips (e.g. VELCRO™ fastener)affixed to flap 13, as shown, may work well for this purpose. To furtherprotect against vapor ingress, an additional flap of flexible barriermaterial 15 can optionally be provided that is sewn or otherwiseattached to barrier material 10′ and traverses the sealed region fromthe side opposite to flap 13 and which is again secured to barriermaterial 10 by a suitable fastening means, such as a hook 16′ and loop17′ strip. One advantage of this type of sealing construction is that itprovides pressure relief from within the fully encapsulating ensemble.When the wearer moves about, and in particular when bending over, thepressure in the suit increases slightly. This increased pressure canpush outward through the zipper 11, 12 and against the elastomeric strip14, causing it to lift slightly and allow the pressure to escape. Yet,if the pressure is greater outside the suit, flap 13 and optional flap15 will press the elastomeric seal 14 against zipper parts 11, 12 andagainst the barrier material 10 and 10′, further enhancing theperformance of the protective seal.

FIG. 5 shows a partial cut-away side perspective view of a persondonning or doffing a suit 1 of the protective ensemble of the invention,such as the protective ensemble shown in FIG. 2, wherein the removableface portion 2 having the attached air supply (i.e., via air port 4, airline 7 and air tank 6) is in place on the wearer's face. The person isable to don and doff the suit 1 via the opening depicted by perimeter 5,and the leg-receiving 16 and arm-receiving 14 portions accommodate thelegs and arms of the wearer, respectively

With respect to suitable constructions of the protective ensemble of theinvention, the ensemble construction should provide the necessary levelof protection as prescribed by the end application and preferably may besufficiently flexible so as to provide relative comfort and ease ofmovement to the wearer. For example, a variety of fabric constructionsare available from which to choose depending on the level of threat towhich the wearer will be exposed. In the case of chemical and biologicalprotective ensembles, for example, suitable fabric constructions shouldalso pass the vapor permeation and liquid penetration tests set forthherein. For example, in one embodiment, the fabric construction may becomprised of at least one woven, knit or nonwoven textile material andat least one barrier material. “Barrier material” refers to any materialcapable of providing permeation resistance against the environmentalchallenges required for the specific end application. The textile mayinclude synthetic fibers, natural fibers, or blends of synthetic andnatural fibers. The barrier material may be laminated to the textile,coated onto the textile, imbibed into the textile, or otherwise affixedadjacent to the textile.

In one aspect of the invention, a suitable fabric construction for theprotective ensemble comprises at least one layer of fabric material andat least one layer of barrier material. The textile and barrier materialmay be provided as a laminate of at least one fabric layer and at leastone barrier film material produced by any suitable method. Suitablematerials are known in the art and include, but are not limited to,those as described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,644 to Driskillet al. For example, such laminates can be produced by printing anadhesive onto one layer in a discontinuous pattern, in an intersectinggrid pattern, in the form of continuous lines of adhesive, as a thincontinuous layer, etc., and then introducing the second layer in a waythat the adhesive effectively joins and adheres together the twoadjacent surfaces of an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (“ePTFE”) basedbarrier film and the textile material. The textile layer typicallyprovides at least some abrasion resistance to help protect the barrierfilm material.

An optional second textile layer may be present on the inside of thefabric construction and typically provides at least some abrasionresistance to the side of the barrier material opposite the firsttextile layer and to provide a more comfortable surface to the wearer.The second textile layer may comprise a woven, knit, nonwoven textile,or any other flexible substrate comprising textile fibers including, butnot limited to, flocked fibers. The inclusion of a second textile layercreates what is often referred to as a “3 layer” laminate.

Alternatively, the textile and the barrier material can be detached fromeach other except at isolated discrete connection points such as arounda perimeter of the article and/or at irregular, sporadic intervals.

In the case of protective ensembles for chemical and biologicalresistance, the barrier material in the fabric layer should be resistantto chemical and biological penetration and diffusion since it providesmuch of the protective nature of the fabric construction.

One suitable barrier material useful for chemical and biologicalprotective fabric construction is a composite includingpolytetrafluoroethylene film. Exemplarypolytetrafluoroethylene-containing protective fabric constructions areavailable from W. L. Gore and Associates under part number ECAT 614001B.Such protective fabric constructions provide excellent chemicalpenetration and permeation resistance in addition to high thermalstability, both properties that are required for applications such asfire fighting and hazardous material handling. In addition, theimpermeable nature of this type of protective fabric constructionprovides excellent biological protection, making it ideal for many typesof emergency medical personnel. Alternatively, the barrier material usedin the chemical and biological protective fabric construction can be anysuitable waterproof, breathable or nonbreathable layer capable ofproviding the necessary level of protection. For example, the fabricconstructions known under the tradename Tychem®fabric (from DuPont) areacceptable for many conditions.

Constructions of the components of the protective ensemble may varywidely, again depending on the threat to which the wearer may beexposed. For example, conventional sewing techniques may be sufficientfor certain conditions; whereas, conversely, in the case of protectiveensembles for chemical and biological conditions, additionalconstruction steps such as sealing the sewn seams with barrier seam tapeor the like may be appropriate. Other textile or laminate joiningtechniques such as gluing, welding, and the like may also be employed toconstruct protective ensembles of the present invention.

The following non-limiting example is provided to further exemplifyaspects of the invention.

EXAMPLE

A suit including leg-receiving portions and arm-receiving portions and ahood portion with a single circular opening for donning and doffingmeasuring about 50 inches in circumference was constructed from a threelayer chemical/biological protective fabric (Part number ECAT 614001B,from W. L. Gore and Associates, Inc., Elkton, Md.) and the sewn seamswere sealed with seam-covering tape. One half of a 50 inchwater-resistant separating zipper was sewn around the perimeter of theopening in the hood so that the zipper terminated in close proximity tothe zipper start point.

A face portion having a mask adapter section was constructed from thesame materials described above. Specifically, the outer perimeter of theface portion was cut so that it matched the inner diameter of the circleformed by the half of the water resistant separating zipper attached tothe hood opening. The other half of the water resistant separatingzipper was sewn to the outer perimeter of the face portion.

The central portion of the face portion was modified by additionalcutting and sewing to fit a mask associated with a self containedbreathing apparatus (SCBA). For this example, the mask was a SpiromaticS3 (Interspiro, Inc. Branford, Conn.). Gaskets were cut from 0.060″thick neoprene rubber sheet (McMaster Carr PN 8568K521) and used to sealaround the openings made to accommodate the mask. The neoprene rubbersheet was selected to provide a seal to eliminate any mass transfer frominside to outside the suit due to pressure changes caused by movement.

To seal around the SCBA mask visor, a channel was formed by sewingelastic around the inside of the opening cut for the mask and sewing anadditional section of fabric with an identical opening to the inside ofthe hood. In this example, the inner fabric material was a three layerconstruction with Nomex jersey knit on both sides The opening on thisinner layer was also elasticized. The stitch line joining these twopieces was situated approximately 1″ outside the elasticized openings.Stitching in this manner resulted in an elastic “U” channel that wouldform around the inner and outer edges of the mask visor.

All sewing was performed using a conventional sewing machine, and allseams were sealed with protective seam-covering tape.

1. A protective garment ensemble comprising: a suit includingleg-receiving and arm-receiving portions and a hood portion, said suithaving an opening adjacent the hood portion through which the suit canbe donned and doffed, said opening having a perimeter with a firstfastener component thereon; and a removable face portion having a secondfastener component for mating with said first fastener component.
 2. Theprotective garment ensemble of claim 1, wherein said suit comprises onepiece.
 3. The protective garment ensemble of claim 1, wherein said suitcomprises multiple pieces.
 4. The protective garment ensemble of claim1, wherein said suit comprises a fabric.
 5. The protective garmentensemble of claim 4, wherein said fabric comprises at least one textilelayer and at least one barrier layer.
 6. The protective garment ensembleof claim 1, wherein said suit comprises at least one barrier layer. 7.The protective garment ensemble of claim 5, wherein said fabriccomprises a two-layer construction.
 8. The protective garment ensembleof claim 5, wherein said fabric comprises a three-layer construction. 9.The protective garment ensemble of claim 4, wherein said at least onebarrier layer comprises PTFE.
 10. The protective garment ensemble ofclaim 1, wherein said removable face portion further includes a visor.11. The protective garment ensemble of claim 1, wherein said removableface portion further includes a mask.
 12. The protective garmentensemble of claim 1, wherein said removable face portion furtherIncludes an air port.
 13. The protective garment ensemble of claim 1,wherein said removable face portion further includes a combination maskand breathing apparatus.
 14. The protective garment ensemble of claim 1,wherein at least a portion of said removable face portion comprisesfabric.
 15. The protective garment ensemble of claim 14, wherein saidfabric comprises at least one textile layer and at least one barrierlayer.
 16. The protective garment ensemble of claim 15, wherein said atleast one barrier layer comprises PTFE
 17. The protective garmentensemble of claim 1, wherein said first fastener component comprises afirst half of a separating zipper and said second fastener componentcomprises a second half of a separating zipper.
 18. The protectivegarment ensemble of claim 1, wherein said first fastener componentcomprises a first half of a separating rail-type closure and said secondfastener component comprises the mating second half of a separatingrail-type closure.
 19. The protective garment ensemble of claim 1,wherein said protective ensemble further includes at least one flap ofbarrier material oriented over said first and second fastenercomponents.
 20. The protective garment ensemble of claim 1, wherein saidprotective ensemble further includes two overlapping flaps of barriermaterial oriented over said first and second fastener components.
 21. Aprotective garment ensemble comprising: a unitary suit includingleg-receiving and arm-receiving portions and a hood portion, said suithaving a single opening adjacent the hood portion through which the suitcan be donned and doffed, said opening having a perimeter with a firstfastener component thereon; and a removable face portion having a secondfastener component for forming a seal with said first fastenercomponent.